The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Using composite skin-foam-carrier components to produce instrument panel supports for motor vehicles is known per se. For example, a composite skin-foam-carrier component of this type is shown in DE 102 19 522 A1. The composite component includes a carrier and a skin, with a foam layer formed in between. In an area below which a passenger airbag is to be arranged, both the carrier and the foam layer have a material weakening that defines an airbag flap in the composite component. The flap partially ruptures and flips open when the passenger airbag is activated, thereby allowing the passenger airbag to unfold into the vehicle interior.
EP 0 916 555 A2 shows a cover device for a passenger airbag that is arranged in the area of a dashboard. The cover device has an H-shaped airbag flap capable of rupturing and flipping open in the event of deployment of the passenger airbag. Particularly if airbag flaps of this type are to be integrated into composite skin-foam-carrier components, it may become difficult to produce material weakenings such as gaps with any degree of process reliability.
In one known procedure, lasers are used to produce material weaknesses in the form of gaps in order to facilitate the rupturing of this type of airbag flap. For example, DE 10 2005 037 939 A1 shows a composite skin-foam-carrier component for a motor vehicle. This composite component has an airbag flap delimited by a hinge area and a predefined tear line. To make it possible for the airbag flap to tear open in the area of the tear line, the carrier material and the foam layer are perforated with a laser during the manufacture of the composite component. The skin, or rather the skin layer of the composite component, which usually faces the vehicle interior and forms a visible part, could possibly be damaged if such a laser is used.
As an alternative, it would also be possible, for instance, to use a material-removing tool such as a cutter to weaken such a tear line or in other words to remove material. However, the risk involved with this is that a cutter is very difficult to guide precisely along the tear line. In addition, using a cutter on composite skin-foam-carrier components of this type involves the risk of gouging off at least part of the foam layer, possibly resulting in undesired indentations in the composite component. The result of both of these risks may be that the process of rupturing the airbag flap upon deployment of an airbag is undefined, and in particular that it may not follow the desired contour, namely the predefined tear line. Moreover, if the material weakening does not precisely follow the tear line and the foam layer is partly gouged off, an undesired particle flight upon activation of an airbag may result. In such a case, parts of the foam layer of the composite component could be propelled into the vehicle interior.
In general, shaping and processing a composite component of this type to produce material weaknesses in the area of a predefined tear line of an airbag flap can generate chips that invade the vehicle interior in the form of a particle flight, at the latest when the airbag is deployed, causing and the airbag flap to tear open.